Burning Bridges
by Arbitrary-Arsenic
Summary: A young man named Wario grows discontent with his life in Arrow City. He makes one decision that changes the course of his life forever. As he goes down this new path, he meets a kid called Waluigi, and a fated friendship forms... Discover the story behind these two notorious mischief makers, and how some bridges were meant to burnt. Contains crime and general villainy. On pause.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: _This is a story chronicling the origins of Wario and Waluigi and their epic partnership. It's set in a slightly more realistic version of the Mario universe. Please note that their characters _will change _over the course of the story. People aren't static, they change over time.  
That said, please enjoy, and remember to review if you please. I'd love to hear your input. This will be updated on a bi-weekly basis and will consist of approximately 7 to 8 chapters, if all goes as planned.

* * *

Outside his apartment window, the lights of skyscrapers blazed against a darkening sky. Cars blared down streets, their impatient drivers slapping their palms against their horns. Wario sighed heavily. Another typical day in Arrow City.

Things hadn't been going well for the young man recently. At the age of 23, he had expected himself to be reasonably successful, with a college degree in one hand and a budding career in the other. Instead, he'd been bouncing around from job to crappy job, getting laid off due to the poor economy and struggling to pay his bills. His apartment wasn't exactly the picture of living standards, but it was a place to stay and it was _his_. But now…

He stared forlornly down at the paper in his hand. His last payment for his phone service had been rejected. The check had bounced. He wasn't crazy about the idea of job hunting _again_. Yet what choice did he have? This phone bill was just the latest failure in a line of failures. If he didn't come up with some cash, and _fast, _he'd be out of a place to live.

Another sigh followed the first one, and he leaned back heavily into his couch. There _was_ something else he could do. Steal. He'd been desperate enough before to consider it, and had even picked out a gas station to stick up, but he'd chickened out. Breaking the law just seemed like too big a risk to take.

_Yeah, and look how that turned out, _Wario snorted to himself. _Being a model citizen hasn't gotten me _**anywhere**_._

His thoughts turned progressively bitter. All his life, he'd played by the rules and worked hard for what he had. Growing up with no parents to take care of him had taught him to be independent and self-reliant. And what did he have now? No career, no money, and no options.

"I'm fed up with this." Saying it out loud, hearing the anger in his own voice, strengthened Wario's resolve. "It's time I _do _something about it!"

The paper crumpled in his hand. Wario made a decision.


	2. Making a Choice

_Author's Note: _Carrying on into chapter 2! Here we see Wario making a leap...

* * *

It had been easy to get a gun. Not that Wario was particularly surprised. The side of Arrow City he lived in didn't exactly have scrupulous residents. The hardest part had been making up his mind to actually do it. Buying the gun meant spending the last of his cash. It meant that if he went through with it, he'd really have no other choice than committing a robbery.

He spent a restless night of tossing and turning, trying to find that feeling of determination and anger he'd felt earlier that evening, when looking at his failed phone bill. By the time the sun decided to show up again, straining through the dusty slats of his window blinds, he was tired and pissed off enough to think _to Hell with this, I'm gonna do it! _and really mean it.

A few hours later, washed and dressed but not feeling nearly awake enough, he found himself down a dark alley a few blocks away from his apartment complex, sliding through the back entrance of a shady gun shop with an even shadier owner. At first, the guy asked for a permit, but once Wario procured a fist-sized wad of cash, his eyebrows rose and he asked what Wario was looking for. Just a handgun, he'd replied, nothing special. Give me two magazines.

And that was that.

He left not five minutes later, bereft of money but with a real gun loaded with real bullets jammed into the waistband of his pants, concealed by his denim jacket.

It was time to take charge of his life. It was time to screw the rules, because playing by them meant getting screwed yourself. There was no going back now.

He started up his car and drove to the nearest gas station.

* * *

Wario's hands were shaking. He was nervous as hell. Although he'd made up his mind less than a day earlier, it seemed impossibly long ago. Now he found himself standing in an aisle at a generic Shell Mart, on the south side of the city. Through the large glass windows, he could see a couple of people moving about their cars, loading up on gas and scowling at the cost on the pumps. The gun in his waistband felt heavy and real. He eyed the clerk from the corner of his eye. A woman had just finished purchasing a Pepsi and some gum. There was no one else around. Wario swallowed compulsively, trying to force his anxiety back down. The doors slid shut behind the woman. The pumps were now empty. If he didn't move now, he'd lose his nerve _again_.

Wario strode up to the counter, tugging the gun out as he went. The clerk lifted his head, opened his mouth to speak, and then his eyes locked onto the gun pointed at his face. Any words he had been about to say died in his throat. The fear shone from his eyes and Wario did his best to keep his anger at the world showing on his face, rather than the doubt that dominated his thoughts.

"Get the cash from the register," he ordered, trying to ignore the way his hands shook, his finger slipping around the trigger. The clerk stumbled back a few steps, shaking his head.

"Come _on_, kid!" Wario hissed. "Don't be a fucking hero. _Just get a bag already!_ Put the damn cash in it, and you'll get to keep your fucking head!" He swore under pressure. He only hoped the kid would interpret that as him being an experienced street thug who wouldn't have qualms about pulling the trigger, rather than the sign of nervousness it was.

Looking like he was on the verge of wetting himself, the clerk pulled open the register and began putting green bills into a plastic shopping bag. His eyes darted from the money to the gun in Wario's hands repeatedly, as if making sure Wario hadn't changed his mind and decided to shoot him anyway. At last, he reached the point where he was scrabbling at leftover coins.

"Give me the bag," demanded Wario. The clerk hastened to obey, nearly dropping it before Wario got a good grip on it. The bag was heavier than he'd expected.

"I'm going to leave now," the robber continued, "and if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut about this." The clerk nodded vigorously, standing ramrod straight and pressing his lips so tightly together they turned white.

Wario scurried to the exit, the gun pointed in the general direction of the front counter and the bag of cash clutched in one clenched fist. As soon as he made it through the doors, it was a mad dash to his clunker of a car in the parking lot, jumping through the driver's side and slamming his foot on the gas before he'd even turned the key all the way to start it up. He swerved his way into the street, surprising several traffic-goers. The result was angry yelling and honking. None of that really reached Wario's attention, though. His mind was focused on the bag he'd thrown on the passenger seat. It was just sitting there, looking completely like it belonged right where it was. A grin began to steal across his face.

_Holy shit. _He'd actually done it! There was a bag crammed with cash in his car! A heady rush of adrenaline shot through him, rather belatedly, and he liked it. He let out a loud whoop of excitement.

"Holy shit!" he yelled to the world at large. His laughter carried him all the way back home, his hands steady and secure on the wheel.


End file.
